Toolbox
- about 1/2 yd fabric
- chipboard or stiff cardboard
- 1/2" wide elastic
- scissors
- ruler
- sewing machine, thread, and needle
- straight pins
- (optional) rotary cutter, straight edge, and cutting mat
If you’re a fan of reading, you’re probably a fan of the Kindle, Amazon’s awesome wireless reading device. And if you’ve never heard of Kindle, you should check it out, because the Kindle is taking the reading world by storm.
Like any good electronic device that you’ve invested money in, you’ll want to protect your Kindle with a cover. Ideally, it will be a useful and protective cover that’s also inexpensive. And it would be nice if it could prop the Kindle up for table-top reading or let the Kindle lay flat for hand-held reading. Oh, and it’s got to look crazy cute, too!
Tall order, right? There are some Kindle covers
So that’s just what I did. And I’m gonna show you how to make one, too! It’s really quite easy, believe it or not. Before we get into the instructions, though, here’s a video showing you just how the case works.
Now you just HAVE to have one, right? Okay, let’s get to it!
But first, a word about Kindle models and sizes
The original Kindle that first came out (Version 1) is no longer available on Amazon, but you can still find a Kindle 1 on eBay if you’re looking for that model. The Kindle 2
(Note that Amazon also makes a gigantic Kindle DX
Psst! Looking for measurements for the DX or nook reader? I’ve got a formula I’ve been working that you can use to generate measurements to adapt this holder for any device. Check out my formula in comment #32 below and let me know if it works for you. If so, I’ll add it here!
Gather the supplies
You’ll need about a half a yard of fabric. You can have some fun here and use just about any fabric you like, as long as it’s not super thin or super thick, either of which will give you trouble. Regular quilting fabric (that you see rows and rows of on the back wall in any fabric store) works great and comes in hundreds of fun patterns.
You’ll also need a piece of 1/2″ wide elastic
Next you’ll need some really stiff cardboard, or ideally, some thick chipboard. You want something sturdy and strong, that won’t fold easily (which means regular cardboard boxes are a big no-no). You can find good cardboard on the back of a notebook or in the cover of a composition book,
Just slice the cover of the binder open with a craft knife
Finally, you’ll need some ordinary sewing supplies like scissors, a ruler, a sewing machine, needle and thread, and straight pins.
Cut the pieces
Cut three pieces of fabric using the appropriate measurements for your Kindle model.
| Kindle 1 | Kindle 2 | |
| 2 pieces | 6 1/4″ x 22 1/2″ | 6 1/4″ x 23″ |
| 1 pieces | 7 1/4″ x 5″ | 6 1/2″ x 5″ |
Cut five pieces of chipboard, using the appropriate measurements for your Kindle model. As you cut each one, mark its “piece number” on it with a pencil, so you don’t mix them up. It won’t show later, and it will make assembly much easier.
| Kindle 1 | Kindle 2 | |
| Piece #1 | 7 1/2″ x 5 3/4″ | 8″ x 5 3/4″ |
| Piece #2 | 3/4″ x 5 3/4″ | 3/8″ x 5 3/4″ |
| Piece #3 | 7 3/4″ x 5 3/4″ | 8 1/4″ x 5 3/4″ |
| Piece #4 | 3/4″ x 5 3/4″ | 3/8″ x 5 3/4″ |
| Piece #5 | 3 3/4″ x 5 3/4″ | 4″ x 5 3/4″ |
Sew the pocket
The pieces are cut and we’re ready to sew! Note that all my measurements assume that you will use 1/4″ seam allowances on all sewing. Anything more than that will cause too much bulk in the corners.
Take the smallest piece of fabric and fold it in half, wrong sides together, so that the folded piece is 2 1/2″ tall and either 7 1/4″ or 6.5″ wide (depending on your Kindle model) and the fold is at the top. Then fold each corner down so that it meets the bottom edge, and pin in place.
Take one of your 5 3/4″ wide pieces of chipboard and center it on the fabric, using it as a guide, and mark either side on the fabric with a pen.
Now sew a vertical row of stitches right where you’ve made each mark and then trim the corners off (trimming won’t be necessary for the Kindle 2 case).
You’ll now have a pocket that looks something like this:
Now take one of your long pieces of fabric and place it face up on the table, with one of the ends in front of you. Place your pocket on top, lining up the bottom edge with the bottom of the long piece of fabric. Pin it in place, then flatten out the corners to get the bottom edge as smooth and flat as you can.
Take the other long piece of fabric and lay it on top, face down, with the bottom ends lined up. Pin in place and sew along the bottom edge (remember that 1/4″ seam allowance!) with the sewing machine.
Fold back the top piece of fabric and you’ll see your little pocket sewn inside. Use your finger to puff out the corners of the pocket, then line up the pocket’s sides with the sides of the bottom piece. Pin in place. It will look a little squished, but just focus on the side edges and make them as square as possible.
Add the elastic and sew it up
With the pocket pinned in place, it’s time to add the elastic band. Start by folding the top piece of fabric back in place and smooth it out.
Then on the right side, use a ruler to measure 2 1/2″ up from the row of stitches and mark it. Do the same on the left side. Slip the elastic in between the two long fabric pieces (like meat in a sandwich) and line it up with your marks. Let it stick out either end, and pin it in place.
Now for the big sewing! Take it to the machine and sew up the long, right side of the piece, and then again on the long, left side. Don’t sew the top shut! After it’s sewn, you can trim off the excess elastic.
Flip the whole thing inside out, and you should now have a loose tube which is open on one end. On the other end, you’ll have an elastic band on one side and a fully-formed pocket on the other.
Add the cardboard
Now take piece #1 of your chipboard and stuff it inside the tube. It should be very snug, and if your measurements are all right and you used 1/4″ seam allowances, it should fit just right.
Push the chipboard all the way down to the bottom of the tube, nice and tightly, and you should have a good, firm base.
The pocket should have nice corners and be just the right size to fit your Kindle. These pictures show a Kindle 1 pocket on the left, and a Kindle 2 pocket (which is thinner) on the right. Go ahead and test your Kindle now and make sure it fits well, because if you have to re-work something, now’s the time to do it, not later!
Make sure the chipboard is still all the way at the bottom of the tube, then take the piece to the sewing machine and run a row of stitches all the way across the top of the chipboard, as close as possible to the board. You might find it helpful to use a zipper foot on your sewing machine, but the regular foot worked fine for me.
Now put piece #2 of the chipboard into the tube, and shove it all the way down to the row of stitches you just did. Then take it to the machine and sew another seam as close as possible to this new piece of chipboard.
Continue with pieces #3 and #4, sewing a row of stitches after each one. Finally, put piece #5 in place. (Aren’t you glad you numbered these?) With all pieces in place, there should be about an inch or so of fabric hanging off the edge. Use scissors to trim that to about a half inch.
Finish the seam
All that’s left to do now is close up the final seam. Start by folding one flap in and tuck it down next to the chipboard.
Then fold the other flap in so that the folded edge lines up with the first one.
With a needle and thread, use a slip-stitch to sew the seam shut, and you’re done!
The final result
The finished case is one big piece that folds up around your Kindle, or can be used to prop it up like an easel.
Here is the finished Kindle 1 case with a Kindle inside.
Here’s a finished Kindle 2 case with a Kindle inside. Look how nice and compact it looks when folded flat. The Kindle 2 is SO thin that its crazy. I really love this striped fabric, don’t you?
And the case folds nice and flat so you can hold the Kindle in your hand for easy reading. And all my Kindle-reading friends say that the best part is the way you can prop it up on a table if you get tired of holding it.
Another example
Jo’s husband has a Kindle that he loves, and he often likens it to the fictional handbook after which the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy“
47 comments so far:
now I need to go out and buy a Kindle just so I can make this cover.
Kelly, that sounds like a good excuse to me!
If you want colored elastic, go to a dollar store and buy an elastic headband. You’ll find them in all sorts of funky colors.
Donna, thanks for sharing such a great tip! We will definitely try that on the next case we make.
Very cool!! I posted a linkto your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-sew-a-kindle-cover/2009/09/04/
–Anne
Thank goodness for you two! My Mom requested a cover for her Kindle and the thought of developing the pattern gave me nightmares! THANK YOU!
Thanks, Anne!
Joy, we’d so happy we can help you sleep better
Please let us know how your cover comes out!
Wow! This design is really, really cool! Thanks so much, I’ll be linking.
I’m leaving on a trip for quite some time and ordered the Kindle to keep me company. The fancy case I ordered won’t get here in time, so I need to make myself one!
Perfect idea!!
Let’s see if I can find a masculine fabric.
Good idea, Casey. We’d love to see what you come up with!
This was a great pattern. I made one in one evening and it works great. Now I feel like its protected. Maybe one of these days I’ll tackle that photo cube.
That’s so great to hear, Linda! We would love to see a photo if you want to add it to our Flickr group.
Just spent about two hours reading reviews on Amazon, trying to decide which case to purchase…they all had negatives….so, decided to google, not really expecting to find a pattern!! Yours looks good but is not exactly what I wanted but I am leaving tomorrow on a trip and want to take my new Kindle so I will make your design. I am going to experiment and use headliner in place of the chipboard. It is padding and will be good for protection. I figure if I use the dimensions you listed, the final product should still fold where it is supposed to…too bad I can’t get to the store to get some elastic headbands! May make the pattern and then retro engineer it later to substitute the colored elastic. Wish me luck but I have plenty of headliner and fabric!!! Thanks so much for sharing your design!!
bhhandler, we’re so glad we surprised you! I’d love to see how your holder turns out. I’ve never heard of “headliner”. What is it? And have fun on your trip!
This is probably the niftiest thing I have ever seen! thanks so much for the tutorial!
Thanks, Emmalee!
I am an experienced seamstress and I decided to use leatherette (pleather) on the outside. It worked and looks great. Not sure what I did wrong but my tube came out too short but I made it work. I found special addition Mark Twain themed fabric (Windham Fabrics) that I used on the inside. I also traded ribbon ties for elastic; turns out when the case is in flip mode the ribbons help to keep the thing standing.
Some tips for people trying for the leather look:
Use denim 100 gauge needles and heavy duty polyester thread. Use as thin a pleather as you can find (pseudo-suede works too). Before you sew the two sides together to make a tube sew a two inch piece of scrap fabric to the top “open end” of the tube, pin the sides out of the way, then sew up the sides and bottom. The little flap helps turn the edge of the leatherette and is easier to hand sew.
Amanda, that’s wonderful advice for our advanced sewers! I would love to see your cover. Would you add a photo to our Flickr group?
This is awesome. I have been searching up projects right now online to make the kids for Christmas. My kindle, a #1 generation, (the first one) is temporarily in the pawn shop. Things are tight for us this year. Anyhow, I have started a sewing blog showing the things I am making.
http://yourdailysuccessjournal.com/sewing
I am going to make this for my self, as soon as I finish the kids projects, It is cool to have something that is actually hands free. Thanks. BTW, I have boxes and boxes of 3 ring binders in storage, I won a whole lot of them (over 300) on ebay one year from the state surplus store. So if anyone reading this wants to buy a bulk of them visit my blog and I will negotiate a great deal to send them to you.
I am excited to make this project.
Laurie
Hi Laurie. So glad our project idea has inspired you! Good luck with your new blog, and we hope you get that Kindle back soon
I just did a web search to sew my own cover, and found your site. This is perfect. I just ggot my Kindle2 today, and I have a friend who got hers almost a year ago. I will go through my fabric stash and choose fabric for 2 covers.
As for elastic in other colors. If you have a JoAnn’s near your. Look in their assorted ribbon bags. I bought two bags recently, and found that more than half of what was being called ribbon, was actually different colors of 1/2″ thick elastic.
Thank you
Congratulations on your new Kindle, Judi, and thanks so much for the tip about colored elastic. I’ll keep an eye out!
i made one in about 2 hours. i love it!
Awesome, K! We’d love to see it if you want to post a photo to our Flickr group.
Thank you for a wonderful tutorial!
I just got a kindle 2 and I absolutely adore it!
for my cover, I bought some thin batting that I stuck to each side of my cardboard pieces using spray adhesive for extra protection. It worked out wonderfully!
as for fabric, i used a whimsical print on the outside, and a rich, luxurious suede on the inside (since this project didn’t require much fabric, I was able to splurge a little with the suede!)
as for the elastic, i couldn’t find any colors other than black and white to match my fabric. So what i did was sew a long and narrow strip of fabric, flipped it, and using a safety pin fed the elastic through it. This make a pretty casing that matched my fabric. Of course, I bunched up fabric in the casing so I would have room to stretch
thank you so much!
Now i have a case that has my name written all over it!
Camilla, congrats on your Kindle 2! Your cover sounds wonderful, and I really love your solution for the elastic. So clever! We’d love to see a photo if you’d be willing to share. You can post it in our Flickr group or e-mail it to us.
I made mine in about two hours also. My fabric is almost exactly like your stripey fabric – something I picked up at a rummage sale for a quarter. I used the cover of a beat-up childrens book for the board – great way to recycle these, which are a dime a dozen at garage sales! I LOVE this pattern and plan to make a couple more for myself. One addition I plan to make on my next one is a piece of elastic on the inside to hold the Kindle 2 across the top. I found that my fabric is slippery, and the Kindle slides out if not held tightly while flipping the cover around. I also found that it falls out forward if I read it while laying down and don’t tip it back a bit or hold it tightly to the cover with my hand. I added a piece of colored elastic across the top and found it distracting. Best for the inside would be a color that matches the Kindle – so that bland white would work! Thanks again – this is a GREAT pattern – well worth the time to put it together, and PERFECT directions! TY! TY! TY!
denise, thanks so much for the detailed comment. We’re thrilled that you were pleased with the pattern and the directions. I love the idea of using the old book cover. There are so many fun ways to recycle if you really think about it! We’d love to see photos of your cover if you want to share them with us in our Flickr group!
One of our readers, Sama, recently created a custom Kindle case using this tutorial, and shared the photos with us. I’ve posted them in our Flickr group, or you can access them directly with these links: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 ] Thanks so much for sharing, Sama!
You can always tie-die the elastic for FUN colors too!
Please!!! Need measurements for the nook e reader , I absolutely love this project!! also any ideas for the closure versus elastic ( I like the security of the elastic though) I noticed sam used a button
Hi Jacqueline! I’m so glad you like this project. I have actually been working on a formula to generate measurements for other devices (like the DX or the nook) and here is what I’ve come up with. Please let me know if this formula works for you, and if so, I’ll add it to the main project post!
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For the cardboard, the width of all pieces should be 1/2″ wider than the device.
For the length of each cardboard piece:
– Cut piece #1 to the same as the height as the device.
– Cut piece #2 to 1/2″ more than the thickness of the device.
– Cut piece #3 to 1/4″ more than the height of the device.
– Cut piece #4 to 1/2″ more than the thickness of the device.
– Cut piece #5 to half the height of the device
For the fabric, all three pieces need to be 1/2 inch wider than the cardboard. That will allow for a 1/4″ seam allowance on each side, and it should fit the width of the cardboard snugly.
As for the length of the two larger pieces of fabric, I would lay out all of your cardboard pieces, end to end, like I did in this picture. Then measure how long that is total, and add about 3 inches to that. Cut your fabric that long and it should be enough to handle the seams and the flap at the end.
The length of the smaller piece of fabric will depend on how far up the front of the device you want it to come. You want it to be secure, but not up so high that it covers the screen or buttons. To determine the measurement, start by measuring up the front of the device to see how much of it you want the pocket to cover. Then double that. Then add 1/2″ for seam allowances. Then add three times the thickness of the device. (For example: If you want to cover
three inches on the front of the device and your device is 1/2″ thick, then your measurement would be (3×2)+.5+(3x.5) = 8″
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Whew. Hope that makes sense, and I hope my guesses are right! Please let us know how it goes.
Thank you SO much! I love this Kindle case! I love it on so many levels: it is “mine” – made with fabric that expresses who I am, it didn’t cost $50, it works as a stand so I can read hands free – just place a pillow on your lap and put the Kindle in its case on the pillow and there you go!
Another suggestion for the elastic is to “dye” it with acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium. You can customize it to match your fabric.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Patty, thanks so much for your comments. We’re so glad you love your custom Kindle case
We’d love to see a picture of it if you’re willing to share.
And what a great idea for the elastic!
I used foam core board from my son’s old science project. I used 7 inches for the width. It worked out great! There’s substance to the cover. What about possibly using all those plastic campaign or advertising signs that everyone sees out and about? I think that those would work great too!
Stephanie, that’s a great idea. I love any clever re-use of “trash” and this definitely qualifies. Thanks for sharing your great solution
Thank you so much for this pattern. I received a Kindle2 for Christmas and have been using the regular black Amazon cover. I’ve been trying to decide what the best cover would be for me, but I couldn’t decide on color, pattern, style, etc, etc. Well, tonight I thought I’d give this a try and use some material that I have and that I just love. I used foam board instead of chipboard because it is a little thicker, more shock absorbent, and lighter. Now I have a Kindle Cover that I not only LOVE, but that can be hands free when I’m laying in the bed. Wooowooooo! Thanks so much for sharing.
Helena, I’m so glad we were able to help you make a case you love. They say if you want something done right, do it yourself, right?
We’d love to see a photo of your case if you want to share it with us in our Flickr group.
Thanks Chica and Jo for this pattern. I just received a Kindle 2 today and made the cover. It is perfect. Love it, love it, love it. I’m going to made another and work on the way I sewed the foam board in, or make my pieces a bit shorter in length. I ran out of room and had to sew a piece on the very end. You are very clever. Thanks for sharing. I made a note to send a picture later
That’s wonderful to hear, Joyce! Can’t wait to see a picture
I just finished making a case for the Kindle2 my DH gave me for Valentine’s Day. Great directions and pictures! I used flannel for the inside fabric and I adhered some Warm & Natural fleece to the ‘outside’ fabric using spray adhesive. If anyone else does this, I’d suggest adding to the measurements above to compensate. I trimmed down the chipboard and made out ok. I so rarely make stuff for me, this was a treat! Thanks.
Hi idosew, and congrats on making something for yourself for once!
We’d love to see how your Kindle case came out, if you want to upload a photo to our Flickr group or e-mail it to us!
you can dye your elastic with a mix of the cheap refill printer ink/water.
Thank you so much for the great tutorial! I made mine in just a few hours last night and I couldn’t be happier with it- especially saving $30, since I had everything I needed on hand. Absolutely love that I can prop it up, my favorite feature by far.
Only changes I made was to add elastic to go accross the top of the Kindle and I covered the main elastic with fabric.
I’ll add my pics to the flikr group too!
Love your site- I’ve made the photo cube as well for gifts and they were a HUGE hit.
Mary, your cover turned out awesome. I love how you wrapped the elastic in fabric! Thanks so much for sharing your photos, too. (Everyone else, check them out here)
One of our readers, Tina, just told me about the Kindle cover she made with our tutorial. Her husband is a big fan of Douglas Adams, too, so she made him a cover that says “Just don’t panic” in Slovenian. Check out Tina’s blog entry for details!
Instead of colored elastic why not just make a casing for the elastic?